


I Am

by Ldigo



Series: Are You..? [3]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Codependency, M/M, Murder, Murder Kink, Obsession, Psychopathology & Sociopathy, Psychopaths In Love, Sibling Incest, Twincest, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25495249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ldigo/pseuds/Ldigo
Summary: They were sitting in two neighboring interrogation rooms, poses perfectly reflecting each other’s. Every time one of them shifted, the other copied without a notch. In fact, they did it in such flawless synchrony that Jim for the life of him couldn’t tell who was mirroring whom at any given moment, unnaturally so, as though they were a single soul divided neatly between two separate bodies.Jim just hoped that they would never see the light of day again, otherwise Gotham would surely be doomed. For chaos and insanity leaked out of their very pores.
Relationships: Jeremiah Valeska/Jerome Valeska
Series: Are You..? [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1791613
Comments: 12
Kudos: 54





	I Am

**Author's Note:**

> Please be warned that you’re gonna find something more than mere ‘they kissed and held hands like a couple of kindergarteners’ in this part (though nothing remotely explicit), which is definitely a first for me. Come to think of it, it probably has something to do with the fact that I was ambushed on the street by meddling cops, because apparently wearing rainbow-colored doc martens goes against my country’s brand-new marvelous legislation, god bless it. It’s pretty hilarious, really.  
> (Oh who am I kidding, it’s degrading and repulsive and please let me out of this sinking ship)
> 
> On other note, there will be two more works in this series. A collection of ficlets featuring the twins’ most memorable Arkham adventures, which I’m already working on, as well as a full-on story about Galavan’s appearance and what it entailed with both Valeskas in the picture.

They were sitting in two neighboring interrogation rooms, poses perfectly reflecting each other’s. Every time one of them shifted, the other copied without a notch. In fact, they did it in such flawless synchrony that Jim for the life of him couldn’t tell who was mirroring whom at any given moment, unnaturally so, as though they were a single soul divided neatly between two separate bodies. It was unnerving.

Not to mention that it should have been absolutely impossible, for they couldn’t see each other at all and didn’t get into contact beforehand to establish how they were to act. And even if they somehow managed to, it wouldn’t have helped any, since they weren’t placed in their respective rooms at the same time.

No, for all intents and purposes whatever it was they performed was nothing short of an impossible synchronization, almost like a hive mind if those were a thing.

Which they weren’t, last time Jim checked.

Anyway, he’d better decide whom to visit first soon, preferably still in this century. He couldn’t very well stay there and do nothing all day, could he? Work didn’t tend to complete itself, in his experience.

Initially he meant to interrogate Jeremiah first, hoping to get him to admit that he didn’t commit his late mother’s murder, but now, in face of this... this witchcraft, it seemed so pointless, nothing more than a mere fool’s dream. Perhaps he was wrong, after all, and Jeremiah did in fact commit it, either on his own as he claimed, or together with Jerome.

Perhaps not. Either way, it mattered little if he refused to cooperate, and Jim was certain that it would turn out to be the case.

His brother, on the other hand, appeared to be rather short-tempered and marginally less intelligent, if their previous interactions were anything to go by. More importantly, he would easily believe it if Jim were to claim that his brother had thrown him to the wolves to save himself. It was a weakness that could be exploited to Jim’s advantage, and the officer intended to do just that.

Mind made up, he stepped towards the room on his right.

**JVJVJV**

“Hello Jimbo, my old friend! How do you do?” Jerome exclaimed upon seeing the person who’d just thrown the door open, consciously exerting as much disturbing cheerfulness as he could manage. “Haven’t seen you around much lately. Is it work eating up your time? I hope not, though you do look exhausted.”

“Might have something to do with one Zachary Trumble’s murder,” the boring officer dryly replied. “Care to give your statement?”

“Uncle Zach? That’s absolutely horrible!” he gasped, putting his hand to his chest.

“Yes, it is. But you know what’s even more atrocious? He’s been killed in exactly the same fashion as your late mother. Down to a T, in fact,” Gordon deadpanned. “And strangely enough, last time I checked the perpetrator of _that_ crime was locked up in Arkham for good. Oh wa-“

“Oh, you checked all right, didn’t you?” Jerome interrupted the bobby’s no doubt rehearsed speech. His interlocutor arched a brow, but of course it didn’t sway his decision to put off elaborating. It wasn’t the right time to play that card yet.

“As I was saying,” Gordon continued at last, finally grasping that he wasn’t in a particularly charitable mood, “I might have unintentionally misled you. Your brother was actually transferred here for questioning just this morning — to cut down the possibilities, you understand.”

“Interesting,” Jerome stretched his lips in a parody of a smile that he knew looked especially disturbing to most people. “Is there any particular direction this conversation is following? Or were you kind enough to invite me for an unchaperoned chat with Jeremiah? You shouldn’t have, honey!”

“I’m afraid not,” Gordon’s answering smile was tellingly strained, his voice carrying the beginnings of irritation. _Good._ “Though I wouldn’t go as far as to say that there weren’t any chats involved. In fact, we’ve just had a most enlightening one.”

“And what, pray tell, might that revelation of yours be? Please do tell,” Jerome asked, shifting in his seat. He had a pretty solid idea where this was going.

“It was shocking, really,” Gordon gave what he probably perceived as a shark grin. “He claims that you’ve _persuaded_ him to confess to a crime he did not commit. Come to think of it, such unexpected turn of events would certainly explain the similarities between these two murders.”

Jerome visibly tensed, leading the fool of a policeman to believe that he’d bought into his ridiculous ruse, and decided to play some more.

“Shocking indeed,” he drawled, applying an obvious mask of nonchalance atop far more masterfully crafted apprehension. He was confident that it would be sufficient to convince the stupid moron, and sure enough, the victorious gleam in Gordon’s eyes was quick to follow.

Gods above, did the dim-witted bastard really believe him to be a complete idiot or what?

“So, are you going to confess now?”

“Not at all,” he sing-songed, grinning brightly. “Actually, I’d love to contest my brother’s statement — you do have it written down, right? I’m sure this can be arranged swimmingly.”

Gordon opened his mouth to say something — some feasible excuse, probably, but Jerome gave him no chance, which should’ve probably be considered a mercy; “Wait, I have just an idea! A confrontation would be simply _perfect_ , whaddaya think?”

“I’m afraid my superiors would never allow it.”

“Ah, so you _do_ admit that you’ve just sprouted a load of bullshit?” he cackled triumphantly and then winked at his distraught ‘interrogator’. “No worries, no worries, I completely understand. To be honest, you’ve always stricken me as a type to lay it on thick. Please don’t be too harsh on yourself, dear, no one is perfect — except for my Miah, of course.”

“You mean your brother who’ve blamed you for his own transgressions for years on end?” Gordon recovered a little bit too quickly for Jerome’s liking.

“How nice of you to snoop into our _private_ matters under the guise that you care for my well-being in this supposedly abusive relationship,” he smiled sweetly with exaggerated gratitude. “Fear not, I’m perfectly content with the way things are. Besides, I’ve never said that baby bro is without any faults. The thing is, his are endearing while yours are disgusting.”

“That’s enough!” Gordon finally snapped. _Took him long enough_ , Jerome thought worryingly, afraid that he might be losing his touch. “I take it you aren’t going to confess to either of those murders any time soon?”

“But of course,” he paused, noticing with satisfaction a bulging vein on his interlocutor’s forehead, “I am.”

“What?” Gordon croaked, mimicking a gaping fish fresh out of the pond.

“I do intend to do just that,” Jerome helpfully explained, arranging his features into those of a parent indulging their child — not that he had any example to work from, of course. “But only after I get to see Miah. Oh, and leaving us alone as you did that one time would be wonderful. Thank you, Officer.”

The vein on Gordon’s forehead looked so ripe it could’ve just burst then and there. Thankfully, the bobby got a hold of himself, otherwise Jerome would’ve missed the rare chance to molest his sweet little brother.

“Fine,” Jimbo, cooperative as always, bit out. “Don’t expect us to turn a blind eye to any kind of debauchery this time around, though. You’ll get twenty minutes sharp, and not a moment longer.”

The pig stood up and marched towards the exit, stomping down forcibly.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Any further delay will be deducted from your _date_ ,” Gordon spat, looking over his shoulder. “And god help you, Valeska, if you decide to go back on our deal after everything I’ve gone through for you two.”

“But of course, Officer,” Jerome chuckled with a winning smile. “Do not fret, for I have no intention to.”

**JVJVJV**

“And why, pray tell, did you do it?” Jeremiah met his fool of a brother with a cold shoulder, appearing entirely unimpressed with the whole ordeal (whilst inwardly he felt something he couldn’t bear to name).

Honestly, did Jerome not believe him capable of taking care of himself for a few more months?

“Is that any way to greet your brother?” his stupid twin pouted, then added in mock disappointment. “What, you won’t even acknowledge how amazing I am to get us an unsupervised shindig?”

The heavy metal door closed with a resounding thug, as though accentuating Jerome’s ‘success’.

“As if it could have possibly posed any difficulty whatsoever,” he brushed it off dismissively. “You’ve simply promised to confess to whatever it is you committed afterwards, I imagine.”

“Yeah, I might have,” Jerome shrugged, a picture of nonchalance. “Wait a sec, does it mean you don’t know yet?”

“Well, obviously,” Jeremiah scowled. “Why would I ask you otherwise?”

“Huh, I knew that Jimbo was a douchebag, but a complete idiot as well?” his brother muttered, then waved off Jeremiah’s questioning gaze. “That’s not important. Brace yourself, baby bro, for I’m about to deliver you a harsh blow.”

His drama queen of a sibling paused to draw out a suspense, but Jeremiah was having none of that. He’d had a fruitless sleep for the past handful of nights in a row due to Jerome’s ominous parting words, and a rather rude awakening this morning on top of that, hence his patience understandably wore thin at the moment.

“Well, get on with it already, will you?” he drawled with obvious displeasure, ruining the pregnant silence.

“Fine, you killjoy,” Jerome heaved a put-upon sigh, then adopted a grave expression. “It is with great sorrow that I must inform you of the unfortunate passing of our dearest uncle Zach.”

Jeremiah blinked.

In hindsight, he should have suspected this, of course, but somehow such a possibility completely slipped his mind. In fact, he let himself be manhandled and shoved into a police van, then put up with further disrespect and violation of his basic human rights, all the while firmly believing that the fuss was about some flashy random kill that Jerome had come up with on spot.

But now, in light of new intelligence, all of his suffering turned out to be absolutely worth it. He would’ve endured much worse to get to hear that the asshole had finally gotten what he deserved.

“Dear lord, how did it happen?” Jeremiah sniffed just to keep up appearances and promptly flung himself into his brother’s arms, almost knocking him off his feet.

Alas, their acrobatic lessons evidently paid off, since Jerome enveloped him in a tight hug, hardly missing a bit.

“Oh, it was horrible!” his twin exclaimed rather morbidly, not bothering to sound convincingly distraught. “Apparently, someone has cut him up exactly as you did to our mother. An avid fun of yours, no doubt. Copycats these days,” Jerome shook his head as if uncomprehending the sheer nerve of the ‘unknown’ assailant, careful not to dislodge Jeremiah’s weight on his shoulder.

“A fan, you say?” he lifted his head from its comfortable position in the crook of Jerome’s neck and flashed a flirtatious smirk his interlocutor’s way, dropping the act. “Do you think it could have been a courting gift, perhaps?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” his soul’s face split into a Cheshire smile. “It might’ve, I guess.”

Jeremiah’s own grin intensified, and he breached the gap between their mouths.

The sensation was glorious, just as he remembered. No, even better, probably due to his elation.

“How much time do we have?” he asked breathlessly when they parted for much needed air.

“It was twenty minutes when I came in,” Jerome rasped.

“Long enough,” he nodded decisively, head spinning, and sank to his knees, pushing his brother to the nearest wall in the same motion.

“Fuck, Miah, I’ll fucking blow your back out as soon as we get enough time!” Jerome hissed, his head heavily colliding with the concrete. Jeremiah glanced up and smirked before enthusiastically returning to his previous ministrations.

**JVJVJV**

“Oh for God’s sake!” Jim loudly exclaimed, valiantly banishing the image from his mind. Jeremiah, completely unperturbed, wiped the sticky liquid from the corner of his reddened mouth and then proceeded to join his brother in licking clean his other hand that he’d just lifted from his crotch.

“I’m afraid He had nothing to do with us, Officer,” the younger twin turned to him with a blinding smile after they were finished. Jim blinked, still not quite out of his stupor.

“I think we broke him, broski,” Jerome stage-whispered, and that was apparently enough to finally break the spell.

“I don’t want to see any of this _ever again_ ,” Jim shook his head tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose. Meanwhile the Valeskas sufficiently tucked themselves back into their respective garments and once again appeared no worse for wear, if not for their slightly flushed faces and Jeremiah’s puffy lips.

Catching himself with no small amount of mortification, Jim resolutely turned his gaze away from the shameless display.

“I take it you’ve delivered the news, Jerome?” he asked, repulsed by their idea of ‘celebration’.

“Yes,” Jeremiah eagerly nodded instead, proving his suspicions correct. “I was very distraught, you see.”

“And I made him feel better,” Jerome joined in with a cocky smirk.

“Much, much better,” his brother confirmed with amusement. Jim had never seen him quite as lively before.

 _God, does this sicko really get off on murder?_ he thought, disgusted to the core.

“You are disgusting,” he voiced his opinion, unable to help himself.

“If ya say so, Jimbo,” Jeremiah laughed, sounding exactly like his brother. If it wasn’t for the jumpsuit, Jim would say it was, in fact, the other twin.

“Stop it, you!” Jerome ( _right?_ ) swatted his brother’s butt in mock admonishment. “Just look at his face. I bet our poor friend is thinking right now whether it would have been possible for us to exchange the clothes.”

“Darn, you are right!” Jeremiah exclaimed in wonder before descending into a fit of insane cackling that shortly became accompanied.

They stopped exactly at the same time, and Jim should have no longer felt surprised by it at this point, but he did nonetheless. This unnatural _sameness_ probably wasn’t something an outside observer could ever entirely get used to, no matter the exposure scale, he mused.

“Shall we proceed with our agreement, then? Officer Gordon,” Jerome asked, though it sounded more like a demand.

“Right,” Jim coughed, refusing to acknowledge the mockery in the elder twin’s voice — the pal _did_ follow through on his promise, after all. “If you would please f-“

“Can’t I watch?” Jeremiah interrupted with a childish frown.

“And why would you want to do that?” Jim retorted irritably, fed up with their antics. “It’s not like you’d be hearing anything new.”

“Why not? It’s hard to come by a bit of entertainment, you know, for someone of my... circumstances. You’ve woken me up pretty early and dragged me all the way here — and for what, nothing? The least you can do is to provide at something worthwhile,” Jeremiah rebuffed with a sense of full conviction. “And besides, I’ve recently found out that I’m somewhat of a... _voyeur_.”

“Really, Jimbo,” Jerome joined in. “It’s not like we both won’t end up at the same facility by the end of the day. What harm can it possibly do?”

“Of course,” Jim hissed, sensing the beginnings of a pounding headache. “Sure, why not. Don’t do anything... untoward while I go fetch the papers.”

With that said he darted out of the room, barely refraining from slamming the door shut behind himself, and closed it without any additional force instead. He made a quick detour to take a couple of Aspirins, then grabbed the necessary documents from the neighboring interrogation room and hurried to get back into the snake pit.

**JVJVJV**

“You — what?” Jim rasped disbelievingly when Jerome was finished retelling his uncle’s murder — in far more detail than needed, _of course_ — and his _very sound_ reasoning behind it.

“I missed him,” the psychotic bastard repeated, his lips slowly widening in a deranged grin that was positively _oozing_ maliciousness and insanity, gaze firmly locked on his brother as though he was talking to _him_ instead. In a way he was, Jim supposed.

“I could probably tell you I love him, y’know,” Jerome went on, “but such a lame word doesn’t do my feelings any justice, doesn’t even begin to cover the bottomless well of my affection. It’s more like I _live_ him. I’d die before I let him suffer for a single moment longer, and that’s precisely what I did — socially-wise, at least. A small, insignificant price to pay for _being there_ for him, _with_ him. I will always put my brother first before _anything_ , even breathing, if need be. Finishing off that useless scum of an uncle was nothing in comparison to the lengths I’d go for him. And Jimbo, you’d do well to remember that.”

“You are a monster,” Jim whispered, trying to ignore the feverish light in Jeremiah’s eyes. The sicko certainly didn’t have any problem with his brother’s unhealthy, _unnatural_ devotion.

Probably because he’d cultivated it in the first place, after all. Jim couldn’t tell heads from tails at this point, if he ever did to begin with.

“A monster? Perhaps,” Jerome mused aloud, jerking Jim out of his scrambled thoughts. “But you know what? Even monsters are capable of finding kindness inside themselves, if need be. And I assure you, it was most dire indeed. Do you have any idea how they treated him in there?” Jim blinked, and the speaker sighed as though in resigned disappointment. “I assumed as much.

“Well, to your information, he wasn’t even lucid half of the time. And then — then some fuckhead decided it was a brilliant idea to rape him. Thankfully, the arsehole was stopped in time, but not by _completely accidentally_ absent orderlies — no, of course not. It was another inmate.

“Not out of the goodness of his heart, mind you. The bastard simply hoped to get into my Miah’s pants first, and he was particularly insistent in his pursuit after they let him out of the solitary. Which, by the way, also happens to be the very same punishment they bestowed upon my innocent brother when he was found by the badly slashed corpse, not even stopping for a moment to consider how he could possibly be held responsible without any sort of weapon on his person. And apparently a medical examination for signs of sexual assault was considered too much of a luxury as well.

“If that stupid fuck of a rescuer could’ve been bothered to hide the murder weapon, my brother could have spent two fucking weeks in that shithole, clothed in thorn rugs and covered in blood. Thankfully, it only took the mentally challenged staff about half of that time to figure out the truth. Thank god for small mercies.

“So, ya see, I couldn’t just sit back and let this joke of a sentence continue on its merry way as if nothing happened. I needed to make a difference, to do right by Miah. And I did, in the only way I knew how. Just as I promised in between kisses in this very same room half a year ago,” the elder twin finished with a smug, deeply unsettling grin, full of self-righteousness. “Not that you could’ve noticed, what with your attitude towards a little bit of incest.”

“Yes, I’d advise you to watch out for what you can and cannot swallow, Officer Gordon,” Jeremiah chimed in pleasantly, not at all unsettled by the topic of his attempted rape. The innuendo went right over Jim’s head, at least until Jerome burst out laughing.

Jim kept silent. What the fuck was he supposed to say to any of this anyway? He didn’t even know what to think.

He wasn’t cut for simultaneously dealing with not one, but two bloody psychopaths with morbid sense of humor and intelligence frankly above his own, who also happened to be barely legal identical twins and had no qualms about advertising that they were fucking each other. He’d prefer to keep his sanity as intact as possible, thank you very much.

“And yet you still call me a monster, Jimbo,” Jerome continued mournfully, as though Jim’s obvious aversion affected him in any way other then being an infinite source of amusement. Apparently, the bastard wasn’t quite done with screwing him over yet. “Well, I promise to live up to it then — ya see, I’ve always found fulfillment in meeting and greatly surpassing expectations bestowed upon me. Dear ol’ Mummy’s, for example; she always said I’d become a murderer one day, ya know. I imagine following through wouldn’t be too hard in that pit of Hell you insist on calling an asylum.”

“We both know it’s just an excuse,” Jim replied, trying to look as composed as he could manage, “and not the reason for your actions. The real reason is that you were simply born this way. A psychopath with an unhealthy obsession with your brother — your own flesh and blood, might I add, though it clearly doesn’t stop either of you two.”

“Be it as it may, you’ve just confirmed the irrefutable truth that we were made for each other. He and I against the rest of the world. Wonderful, don’tcha think?” Jerome smirked somewhat dreamily, his eyes reflecting the same deranged glint as Jeremiah’s. Jim was one insane declaration of ‘love’ away from visibly shuddering in foreboding terror.

“We are one and the same, yes, but I’m not entirely like you, baby brother. You’d probably find a way to pull me out of here, but I cannot. The only logical conclusion I managed to come up with was to put myself behind bars too. I did it for you, Miah. It’s the only way I know how to protect you,” the elder twin declared with desperate, unyielding devotion, turning to fully face his counterpart.

Jim should have been able to restrain himself, since he didn’t hear anything new, but failed. He shuddered.


End file.
